‘I’m SO Proud Of You And Your Beautiful Performance’: Jodi Benson Aka The Original Little Mermaid Star Backs Halle Bailey Post Racist Backlash
Jodi Benson (60), the actress who voiced Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid Cartoon, publicly backed Halle Bailey (22) after the latter faced a wave of racist backlash from Twitter trolls over her casting as Ariel, citing “race-swapping”.
The original Little Mermaid star took to Instagram to praise Halle’s performance in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake adaptation of the classic Little Mermaid, days after the official trailer racked up more than 1.5 million dislikes on YouTube. The video-sharing platform has now disabled the dislike button, but the statistics are still available through an extension.
Jodi shared a picture of Halle with Rob Marshall, the director of Little Mermaid, on her Instagram story with the caption, ‘I’m SO proud of you and your beautiful performance as Ariel.’ She penned, ‘It was so wonderful to celebrate with your family here at #d23expo and to the brilliant director, Rob Marshall… I’m so thankful for our friendship of over 35 years. Thank you for creating such a stunning film!!’
Her support comes after the actress posted a clip of her singing a part of “part of the world” and “fans” rushed in to give their two cents.
The original Little Mermaid star has sent her love to Halle in the past, too.
The movie has been engulfed in controversy ever since its creators announced who’d be playing Ariel in the live-action film. Jodi defended the star in a statement to USA Today.
The actress said, ‘I think the most important thing is to tell the story. We have, as a family, raised our children and for ourselves that we don’t see anything that’s different on the outside. I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters. What you bring to the table in a character as far as their heart and their spirit is what really counts.’
She went on to say, ‘We need to be storytellers. And no matter what we look like on the outside, no matter our race, our nation, the color of our skin, our dialect, whether I’m tall or thin, whether I’m overweight or underweight, or my hair is whatever color, we really need to tell the story.’
As always, there’s a rainbow at the end of every storm.
Parents worldwide are sharing their Black children’s reactions to seeing a princess who is “brown like me”. Representation matters, folks.
The live-action actress told People that she is focusing on the support, excitement, and praise the iconic movie is receiving.
Talking about bringing her perspective on Ariel to the film, the actress said, “Sometimes it can be overwhelming to take the character that everybody has loved and known for years and make it your own. But I just listened to the little girl that’s in me, and I listen to her and make her happy and then I know if I put my all and my passion and everything into it that I’ll give it my best. And I feel like I did.”
The Little Mermaid, the live-action adaptation of the popular Disney movie starring actress Halle in the role of Ariel, opens in theaters on May 26, 2023.
